Cleared: dk
Hyderabad: Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Sunday charged the previous BRS govt led by K Chandrasekhar Rao as a "Tughlaq regime" that misused police, tapped the phones of Congress leaders, suppressed the voice of dissent and democracy, and the then CM did not function from the secretariat and did not meet even his party MLAs, failing to address the grievances of the people.
He was responding to media queries over the charge sheet released by the BRS against the Congress govt on Sunday. He likened former CM KCR to a "modern-day Tughlaq". The minister alleged that the previous govt undermined the constitutional freedom of the people. "Should it not be termed as the Tughlaq regime for crushing democratic dissent against the then govt, isolating its own MLAs and ministers, ruling from a farmhouse, and not meeting people to hear their grievances?" he questioned.
"KCR made Erravalli farmhouse his main political base and sidelined the secretariat, which is the seat of administration. KCR acted like a real-life Tughlaq Maharaj for nearly 10 years and imposed his unilateral decisions on the people. I don't think anyone will challenge his title for the next 50 years," Srinivas Reddy said.
The revenue minister said the BRS has not learnt lessons from its defeat in elections as the people of Telangana delivered a "discharge sheet" against the pink party by throwing it out of power. "There is clear discontent against BRS' decade-long rule among the people of the state, but BRS top leaders are not willing to accept it. After looting the state during its 10-year rule, BRS has dared to release a charge sheet, but the people of Telangana will see through their hypocrisy," he added.
On the Dharani portal, the revenue minister said all steps were being taken to clean up the portal and all suggestions beneficial to farmers were being incorporated. The management of the portal was transferred from a foreign company to National Informatics Centre (NIC). All necessary changes were being made to correct errors in the RoR Act, with a new 2024 RoR bill likely to be tabled in the assembly session starting Monday.
The new Dharani app and law would greatly benefit the people, particularly farmers. The govt resolved 83% of the pending applications related to Dharani. "We are confident that the proposed new RoR law will provide a permanent solution to land-related issues in Telangana," he said.
Revenue services were revitalised in rural areas with the appointment of dedicated revenue staff to serve in the villages. On Indiramma housing, the minister reiterated the Congress govt's commitment to construct 20 lakh Indiramma houses in the next four years.